The Port of Iloilo is the
independent capital of the province of Iloilo in the western Visayas region on
Panay Island in the Philippines. It is the center of the larger Iloilo-Guimaras
metropolitan area and the economic center of the region. During the colonial
periods, the Port of Iloilo was an important agricultural center for the
Philippines, exporting copra (dried coconut meat), mangoes, sugar, and bananas
as well as other natural resources. In 2007, the City and Port of Iloilo was
home to over 418 thousand people.

Located in the center of the
Philippine islands, the Port of Iloilo is well-positioned to be an important
center for industry, commerce, and trade. It has the educational infrastructure
to prepare a skilled workforce, and it has the physical city infrastructure to
attract and support business and industry. Today, the Port of Iloilo’s banking,
finance, retail trade, and customer service sectors are important to the local
and national economy.

Port History

The Port of Iloilo’s economy flourished before the Spanish
came to colonize the islands. The Spanish conquest of the Philippines had
already started when Miguel Lopez
de Legazpi came to the Island of Panay in 1566. He established a settlement
at Ogtong and appointed a deputy that later became the governor. The Spanish
held the area tight for a couple of centuries.

By the 1700s, the Dutch and the Moros (Filipino Muslims) were
making frequent raids on the Spanish territories. The Spanish then moved their
capital to the village of Irong-Irong where they built Fort San Pedro to
protect their interests. Eventually, “Irong-Irong” was shortened to Iloilo and,
blessed with a natural port, the city was made the province’s capital.

The latter 1700s, a weaving industry in the Visayas region
stimulated trade and growth of the Port of Iloilo’s economy. It was sometimes
called the “Textile Capital of the Philippines,” and its goods were exported to
Manila as well as foreign destinations. The growing textile industry gave birth
to a new middle class. Unfortunately, competition was introduced from the
United Kingdom’s cheap textiles and from the growing sugar economy. By the
middle 19th Century, the textile industry began to diminish.

The opening of the Port of Iloilo to the world market in
1855 replaced the disappearing textile industry. The port gave local industry
and agriculture a gateway to foreign markets. While this helped the economy,
the sugar industry brought a boom to the city and its neighbor island, Negros.
Demand for sugar was high, and the British Vice-consul gave loans, built port
warehouses, and introduced the sugar farmers to new technologies.

The Port of Iloilo’s rich families built haciendas
and developed much of Negros Island. With increased commercial activity, the
city also developed infrastructure, educational and recreational facilities,
banks, consulates, and many new businesses. The Port of Iloilo was so
successful that the Spanish Queen Regent honored it with the status of a city
in 1890 and established the city government.

When the Revolution broke out in Manila, the reaction of
Port of Iloilo residents was slow and mixed. After the Spanish lost a few
battles to the Katipunan
and the Americans, the city finally joined in the fight for Philippine
independence. However, when Spain surrendered to the United States, they moved
their colonial government to the Port of Iloilo. This time, the citizens were
not passive.

By the end of 1898, Spain had surrendered to the local
rebels in what is now the Plaza Libertad. Despite their victory, independence
was not to be. The United States forces began to move toward colonization in
1899. Local resistance continued until 1901.

The American Baptist
church came to the Philippines in 1900. Their missions spawned the Central
Philippine University in 1905 as well as other schools to educate locals,
particularly in theology. The Port of Iloilo became the center for the Baptists
in the Philippines.

Although the United States revoked the city status of the
Port of Iloilo, its active commerce and busy port brought city status back in
1937, when the Port of Iloilo incorporated several other nearby towns. During
this period, the Port of Iloilo was called “The Queen City of the South.”

When the demand for sugar began to fall, Port of Iloilo workers
became restless and frightened investors away from the city. Then in 1942, the
Japanese invaded Panay Island, and the economy came to a stop. The Japanese
planned to colonize the islands in the fashion of the former Spanish and
American imperialist powers. Their plans were thwarted when Filipino and US
forced freed the city from Japan’s military occupation in 1945.

World War II hurt the Port of Iloilo’s economy and
infrastructure, but local situations were more damaging. Labor strife, the
declining sugar industry, and increasing rural conflicts drove many residents
out of the Port of Iloilo to find better opportunities. Businesses began to
move away as well.

From the 1960s to the 1990s, the Port of Iloilo’s economy
progressed slowly. The fishing port was built. The international seaport was
modernized and upgraded. New commercial firms began to invest in the city.
Today, the Port of Iloilo is the regional center for Western Visayas and the
main seaport for Panay Island.